Ethiopia and Djibouti are to work together to explore joint opportunities to develop an oil storage facility in Damerjog Industrial Park in Djibouti.

The facility is intended to provide storage for oil and petroleum products destined for markets in both countries and will provide transshipment services.

Mamo Merhertu, CEO of sovereign wealth fund Ethiopian Investment Holdings (EIH), and Aboubaker Omar Hadi, chairman of Djibouti Ports and Free Zones Authority (DPFZA) which hosts Damerjog Industrial Park, and also of Great Horn Investment Holding which is wholly owned by DPFZA, signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to explore opportunities. The signing ceremony was also attended by The signature of the MOU was attended by Ethiopia’s foreign affairs minister Birtukan Ayano and Ethiopia’s ambassador to Djibouti Berhanu Tsegaye.

Ethiopian Investment Holdings says that the investment in the oil terminal is the first in a series and will ‘help to relieve one of the major constraints of Ethiopia’s and the region’s economy.’

It adds: ‘Through Damerjog oil storage facility, Ethiopia and Djibouti have signalled that their relationship has graduated from mere trade to building together. We will recover and usher in a new era of faster, more inclusive and holistic growth.’

(Source: Tank Storage Magazine)